


ink spills

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Not Actually Unrequited Love, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unrequited Crush, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-22 21:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23000698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sirius keeps knocking over Remus's quill pot and smudging his notes. There's not much Remus can do about it, so he grabs Sirius's hand.And that's when the butterflies appear.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 97





	ink spills

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact this story is based off of my friend and i during class so yeah (sorry chemistry and history teachers). and welp i have exams why the hell am i doing this.

The entire scandal had started in a History of Magic class.

Sirius was exhausted from the night before. They'd had a mini party which ended up messing the entire common room. Which lasted til Peter could've sworn he heard the distinct sound of coughing from outside, and James had remembered that McGonagall was on rounds that night. 

The four of them had rushed to bed, but right now, Sirius couldn't help wishing McGonagall had come earlier, so they'd been a little faster to rush to sleep. His eyes were struggling to stay open, and concentrating on professor Binn's monotonous drawl seemed impossible. He really did not want to be learning about goblin executions right now.

He lazily turned his head to face Remus, whose eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. His usually glazy eyes were sharp in focus, though softened just a little as he turned to Sirius, mouthing "what," almost exasperatedly.

" _Moony_ ," whispered Sirius, earning him glaring eyes with a tired scowl. "Talk to me!"

"I talked to you all night," whispered back Remus in a low voice. "We can talk later, when you're less... _dead_."

" _No Moons_ ," he whined. "I thought I was your friend!"

Remus sarcastically clutched at his heart, and said in a mocking voice "I thought we were more than that!"

And both their hearts skipped a beat.

" _Moo-oony"_ whispered Sirius in between a yawn. "Entertain me, I'm dying here."

But after a couple seconds of tired glares from Remus, Sirius realised he wasn't going to get an answer. He set to staring at Remus take his quill out, write messily but cursively over the dry parchment, until his eyes caught onto something.

Remus's ink pot.

So, with an exaggerated stretch and yawn, he reached his hand just far enough to knock it over. A large smile took over his face as Remus was filled with surprise. He gave an exasperated look to Sirius, before waving his wand, muttering something under his breath, and watching as the ink disappeared, leaving the same notes.

Remus sent what may have supposed to have been a glare. And their eyes caught each other for just a split second, though the second felt like forever. 

Before both their necks snapped around to professor Binns who had suddenly picked on James dozing off in the corner on the other side of the room. He hastily jerked awake, and vividly looked around in panic, causing the entire class to erupt in laughter.

But sure enough, after a while, the humour of it all died down, and everyone, especially Sirius, was left bored to death. Staring at professor Binns slowly gliding in front of the board. Remus took a long sigh, before rapidly scribbling notes down again.

Unfortunately for Remus, Sirius turned to him again as the spark of mischief returned. He wanted Remus to talk to him, and the only way for that to happen was if he disturbed the boy.

Bent upon the parchment, Remus was concentrating too hard to notice anything that Sirius was doing. So, with a swift and discrete motion, he waved his wand under the desk and softly whispered "Alterecto."

A grin took over his face as he watched Remus's hand unwillingly jerk, and the ink dragging across the parchment and streaking across the page. For a moment, Remus looked bewildered, but the reason returned to his face as he turned toward Sirius, who was sporting a massive grin.

With a quick flick of his wand, the smudge of ink was gone, but not for long. Remus hurriedly tried to scratch down the new notes, but to his frustration, his hand was being pulled again, causing another giant strike against his parchment. 

The notes were getting scarred by giant, black marks, and Remus looked simply bewildered. His expression got Sirius try to stifle a laugh while holding his hand strongly against his mouth.

"What the hell, Pads?"

"You wouldn't talk to me," replied a smirking Sirius.

"Because we're supposed to be _studying_?" It was phrased more like a question.

"So?"

" _So_ , we should be using this time to write stuff, and _learn_."

"When will I have to ever _learn_? Remember, as first born, I have the Black family fortune falling upon me," said Sirius in a mocking tone.

"Sure Pads, your mother's going to hand it over to you like that," Remus said and snapped his fingers.

"Of course. The key too the vault will be handed to me in a fine, dragon skin pouch, laced with gold, and freckles of diamond."

"Really? I was imagining a rusty old piece of metal being thrown at you as you ride out of the house on your broomstick,"

"Absolute shite. You and I both know that my dear mother simply _adores_ me," he said, making them both smile. 

"Okay okay, let's see if you can make professor Binns 'simply adore' you now," muttered Remus, after noticing the teacher turn to them.

Remus returned to scribbling notes down, as Sirius played with his quill, plucking out the hairs of the feather and blowing them onto Remus. He watched as they gently fell on Remus's wavy hair, and wished he could puck each and every one of them out, while cradling Remus in his lap, and-

Remus was looking at him. "Aren't you going to take any notes?"

"Well what's the point of you, then?"

Sirius let himself drift off into daydreams of things that certainly weren't appropriate thoughts while learning about goblin executions.

* * *

Sirius wasn't so lucky with McGonagall. During transfiguration, she almost seemed to know every time Sirius was about to nick Remus's ink pot, and sent a sharp glare their way. It confused James, and irritated the still sleepy Sirius.

Remus, however, looked more relieved than he was in History of Magic, maybe because he was actually able to write now. His handwriting was much neater than before, as McGonagall never accepted messy notes. Sirius's had been rejected many times as a result.

Remus bit his lip as he stared at the parchment, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He took a breath, and brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes. Looking up from his paper, he fiddled with his quill, making Sirius feel something he couldn't explain.

And maybe it was that that made Sirius do it. Sirius looked over his shoulder, and quickly flicked Remus's hand away with his other hand. The soft, almost cold touch of Remus's skin gave Sirius raging butterflies, but watching the notes smudge made it worth it.

But it wasn't just the satisfaction of seeing Remus give a frustrated sigh, and the black ink streak smudge the cursive writing. Sirius could've sworn the contact had Remus flinching away and blushing, before looking at the spilt ink.

McGonagall had come up behind the two, making them both jump, and waved her wand. They both watched in wonder as the smudged ink disappeared, leaving Remus's clean notes. She sent a cold glare to Sirius, before walking toward a worried Peter, whose essay barely had more than two lines.

Sirius watched as Remus continued to write down notes, in an almost lazy way, dragging his quill across the parchment. The sounds of quills scratching parchment was weirdly relaxing, especially from Remus's quill.

He'd always use that one. A white feather with a single black streak in it. And his deep black ink that Sirius and James found was impossible not to smudge. It had a silver coloured spiral at the end of it, connecting the feather to the tip.

Sirius remembered the time Remus had introduced them to muggle quills, which didn't have any feathers, and were almost like thin machine type things. They were made of some cold metal, and had a clicky-thing at the end of it. Sirius and James had never seemed so enthralled at the idea of writing notes.

But watching Remus write, he almost felt a type of longing.

* * *

The lesson moved on in a slow blur, til the sweet sound of dismissal allowed Sirius to rush to Defense against the dark arts. A tired Remus who was busy trying to stuff his notes in his bag walked next to a half-asleep James, followed by Peter, who could barely keep up.

Remus sank into the seat next to Peter, watching as Sirius played with a paper airplane. His vivid, grey eyes were following it, as it moved in a loop. His feetwere stretched up on the desk, crossed, as he leant back against his chair. Messy strands were falling wildly, just reaching his shoulders.

Sirius noticed Remus staring, and sent a wink, giving Remus raging butterflies. He bit his lip, and turned behind toward the teacher walking in. She had a very confident manner. Professor Brunichild seemed to be the second worse Defense teacher they'd had, thought they'd been through some pretty bad ones before.

She was wearing her usual dark orange robes, which looked fairly odd against her curly blonde hair. Her face was round, with defined cheekbones, and her eyes had a piercing glare, and almost never seemed to be filled with happiness.

"Good morning, children," she almost declared. Her loud, deep voice echoed through the hall. "Wands away, today we'll be doing an essay today."

Hearing all the groans that came, with a few shouts, she added. "I don't want that reaction, it'll only be six inches long. I want you to tell me, how do we defend ourselves using non-verbal magic, particularly the advantages of it. We'll be learning a little of it from next class onwards!"

Professor Brunichild gave a somewhat twisted smile, not reflected in her eyes, which dropped the second she turned to the desk.

Sirius looked over his shoulder, giving a wide grin to Remus. It was the type of grin he'd make before a prank was about to take place, making Remus slightly suspicious. He heard Sirius whisper something to James, and watched as got up and stood in front of Remus.

"Sirius wants you to sit next to him, Merlin knows why," he whispered, bending down to Remus's ear. 

Remus rolled his eyes as he climbed over the bench, earning a glare from the professor. He gave a wary look to Sirius, who returned it with a smile with a spark of mischief in his eyes.

"Hey Moons," he started in a low voice. "Bet you missed me."

"Funnily enough, no. I just want to get this essay done." 

"Aww, that's no way to talk to me. I'm heartbroken."

"Since when did you have a heart?" Remus's voice, yet again, was at its most sarcastic. His smile got wider as Sirius's eyes widened in fake horror.

"Why Moony! All those nights we had together? Basking under the moonlight? Where we shared our love? How could you?" Sirius hadn't bothered keeping his voice down, and Remus started blushing furiously, hoping the chair would swallow him whole as James cracked up behind him, along with many others who'd heard.

"Oh sweet Merlin, give me the strength," he muttered, before turning back to his essay.

But no sooner was he past the first line, that he felt another jerk of his hand, as the ink under it smudged. He sighed in frustration, but Sirius could see a twitch at the side of his mouth. 

He waved his wand, and muttered another charm to clear it up, eyebrows relaxing as he watched the messy cursive unfurl from under the ink. But it was no more than a few words, before his hand was jerked again. And again. And again.

Until he jerked his hand far back, to the point that he hit his inkpot, and it spilt down on him.

He threw his quill down, and turned to face an almost doubling up Sirius, clutching at his side in silent laughs. His bright eyes were filled with happiness and mischief, and Remus couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little too.

Remus looked down at his robes, which were stained with sticky black. The professor didn't seem to have noticed anything, as she continued reading the book obliviously. Remus tried to hold his wand with two of his fingers, without getting as much ink on it as he could.

"Wait, let- let me- let me help," said a still sniggering Sirius, in between pathetic attempts to quieten down. He waved his wand, and the ink turned a bright shade of green, almost like glowing vomit, causing Sirius to burst and fall off his chair in laughter. 

Several of the students were looking at him now, either in wonder, horror or just trying not to laugh. Sirius couldn't take it. He let out a howl of laughter, which echoed almost as loud as the professor's voice itself.

Professor Brunichild's neck snapped up, and her eyes filled with horror as she looked at Remus. By now, everyone, especially James and Peter behind him, were drowning in chortles.

"What in Merlin's name- how did this even happen?"

Remus caught a look at the now barking Sirius, wiping tears from his eyes. Remus bit his lip, and opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the professor's loud voice.

"I assume it was you two," she said, pointing her wand toward Remus and Sirius. Remus looked dumfounded, while Sirius was too busy pulling himself up to give a proper answer. "Right then. Another fourteen inches of this work, due _tomorrow_." 

Sirius seemed to sober up a little, as the rest of the class went quiet. But he gave an almost suggestive smile to Remus, making Remus blush lightly, while trying to concentrate on the rest of the essay.

The rest of the lessons seemed to pass in a sleepy blur to Sirius, except astronomy. He was made to do another essay due tomorrow, mainly due to his lack of attention to whatever the teacher was saying.

And sitting next to James was boring, as James was almost always dozing off, and he wasn't as fun to annoy as Remus. And there was something about Remus that made Sirius want to be around him all the time.

He remembered always sitting next to James because of how shy he used to be, and deep down still was, when it came to Remus. It was weird, he thought. That he'd feel most comfortable around Remus, but so conscious of himself, watching every move at the same time.

But maybe that's the price to pay for an unrequited crush.

* * *

Remus came straight back to the dorm after herbology, and found Sirius falling onto his bed with his uniform on. The boy held his arm over his face, and let out a long groan. 

Remus grinned as he remembered the two essays Sirius had due tomorrow. He heard another defeated groan of frustration, before Sirius started slowly getting up, while yawning. And set to staring at the wall opposite him, which was covered with knitted Chudley Cannons posters hanging all over.

"Should've paid attention in class," came his usually warm voice, now mocking. Remus sunk onto the bed next to Sirius's. "Maybe you wouldn't have five thousand words due tomorrow."

Sirius replied with nothing but a groan.

"You know I'm right."

"Shut up, you're gonna be helping me."

"Do I have a choice?" But Remus smiled to himself. A few extra hours with Sirius really wouldn't be that bad.

"Well, technically no, because you were the one with bright green ink all over you," remarked Sirius in between giggles.

"And? It's not like she should expect better of you."

"See, it was your fault for having the ink pot on your table. I didn't bring mine, so mine didn't spill."

"Well at least I only have that essay. It's not like I'll have to write about every other star up there, because I was too busy daydreaming about Merlin-knows-what."

"I really wish I could kill Sinistra. Why'm I even taking astronomy? My entire goddamn family's been named after every star up there."

"Well, you didn't want to take up Potions, or Care of Magical creatures, so you didn't have a choice."

Remus remembered that day well. In fifth year, when they'd had career consultation. Remus had stayed very quiet that day, knowing his extremely limited range of professions. But the one thing that cheered him up was Sirius's argument with McGonagall about only taking up six subjects.

Remus heard many words that day, such as "beloved family fortune," and "wasted potential," making him chuckle to himself, and watched as a disgruntled Sirius walked out of the room, arms folded and a scowl on his face.

"The Defense essay was _so_ worth it," he chuckled. "But I don't want to write an essay on the emotional significance of the Pisces constellation. At the moment, the only emotion it's making me feel is frustration."

"Write it down. It'd be enlightening for her to read," relied Remus, voice again dripping with sarcasm.

"I always knew my talents lay in the experimental field of astrology."

"Of course, Sirius. Are you planning to start either of your essays this year anyway?"

Sirius threw a pillow at Remus, before rolling off of the bed with his bag. Remus watched as he left, and pushed away his longing to follow him. He'd fancied Sirius for a long time, though _Merlin_ , it was more than that now. Honestly, he knew ever since he'd seen Sirius in the hospital wing, sitting in the chair next to his bed in second year.

But it was painful, watching Sirius go through girls like clothes, and constantly wishing it was him that Sirius was snogging senselessly against the wall of the corridors. Remus swallowed, and followed Sirius down the stairs, where he and James were fighting over charms textbook.

* * *

"All right lads, I'm turning in," said James with a yawn. He looked positively exhausted, and sent a smug smile to Sirius, who returned it with a scowl. Sirius was lying on the couch, trying to finish the astronomy essay.

His knowledge of astronomy was actually relatively decent, however he never liked the subject as it always reminded him of his dear family. Stargazing was a different thing though. That made him feel free, and like he was just another small part of the universe.

"Y'know, Moony. Stargazing would be my ideal date."

"Brilliant. Sinistra would be excited. Maybe she'll show you a whole galaxy in bed," said Remus, smirking.

"Shut up," said Sirius, giving a longing smile. There was something in his eyes, though. Something that Remus couldn't read.

"How about we get to work on that Defense essay now? We'll turn in at twelve."

Sirius let out a groan, and got off the couch, and dragged a chair to the table. He began picking the woolen threads, red and yellow intertwining. Smiling, Remus looked next to him, watching as Sirius rested his head on the diary.

But they both flinched as their legs touched. The tiniest shock of electricity flew through both of them, as they both looked down, blushing lightly. "Sorry," muttered Remus, eyes fixed on the floor.

"How 'bout I just write it, and you copy it, changing a few words?"

Sirius looked up in hope, and gave a large smile. "Of course, that's why you're here."

Remus started writing, lazily dragging the quill over the dry parchment. The ink dragged up and down the paper in messy cursive, and was almost relaxing to look at. Until Remus felt the warm touch of a hand push his quill away. 

He rolled his eyes at Sirius, before picking it up. But it was thrust of his hands again. The warm touch that brought butterflies, and warm feelings. The quill was eventually thrown all the way across the room. 

Remus walked up and down to pick it up, and waved his wand to clear the mess that'd been made by the ink. He spotted the wand in Sirius's hand, and muttered "expelliarmus," and watched with satisfaction as the wand flew out of his hand.

But Sirius wasn't giving up. He kept punching Remus's hand, until Remus snapped and grabbed his hand.

And that's when it all went down.

Adrenaline rushed inside him as he realised what he'd done. Remus had grabbed Sirius's hand. The warmth slowly traveled from Sirius's hand to his. His eyes were fixed on Sirius, but he couldn't move. Couldn't do anything. His fingers twitched, until he came back to earth.

He quickly let go of Sirius's hand, almost shoving it away from him. Sirius's eyes were fixed on him, and were hard to read. They were dreamy and lost, but almost focused at the same time.

Remus however was terrified. He looked up and down, and in a split second decision, ran away to the dorms, hoping that Sirius would just forget it and leave it alone.

As he lay on the bed, duvet covering his body, he couldn't help thinking about how he'd messed it all up. He bit his lip hard, reminding himself to calm down. Their friendship, their happiness. But then he felt a weight near his feet on the bed. And a soft whisper.

"Moony?"

Remus snuggled deeper inside the duvet, trying to hide his entire body.

"Moons? I just wanna talk."

His voice was much warmer, and almost rawer than before. There was something even more beautiful about it now. Remus slowly got up, feeling the heavy silence, even without James's heavy snoring, weigh upon him.

Sirius's eyes were almost clouded, as millions of different emotions swirled through, like a grey spiral, half liquid, half gas. But his facial expressions were conflicted, as he bit his lip harder, to the point that it looked painful.

"I’m going to do something, Moony. And if I'm right, you'll hopefully like it. If I'm not, then you'll never have to speak to me again."

Adrenaline was flowing even faster through Remus, and he heard Sirius's voice break at the _'again,'_ as held the blanket sharply, trying to hide his shaking fingers. It may have only been a few seconds, but it felt like a painful forever, until-

Sirius's warm lips had crashed against his Remus's, softly brushing over them. Remus could taste his hot, smoky breath, as Sirius's tongue gently brushed against his own, and the heat rose up in his cheeks. It was like he was drifting into a place higher, as Remus was filled with pure, tender warmth.

They broke apart, both breathless and red in the cheeks. Remus licked his lip, the ghost of the kiss still lingering on his lips. Sirius's eyes were full of hope, almost lit up in the darkness of the dorm.

"Oh Merlin, Moony, you have no idea how much I've wanted to do that," uttered Sirius.

"Really? What about the long line of girls who seemed to have thought they were also 'the one'?"

Remus was smiling, and a heavy silence fell between them. Sirius's warm hand found Remus's cold one, and the touch filled Remus with blissful euphoria, which felt like it would last forever. The silence weighed on them, as they allowed themselves to absorb it all. 

"How long?" Remus asked it quietly.

"Third year. Remember when you stayed with me to tear up all those letters while James was in detention? That's when I knew at least," blurted out Sirius. He seemed shy, which was a very rare sight.

"For me, it was when I saw you, second year. You, Prongs and Wormy found out. When I woke up in the hospital wing, and you were still there. You didn't leave like I thought you would. You actually cared," Remus near whispered. It was a secret, a part of him he thought would stay inside forever.

Sirius replied with nothing but a smile, that spoke amounts that words couldn't.

"Why don't we have that stargazing date you were planning tomorrow?"

Sirius opened his mouth in fake shock, but his eyes were smiling. "How could I betray Sinistra?"

"She'll get over it," replied Remus with a smile. "But I wouldn't."

Sirius took Remus's hand, and pulled the duvet over both of them. Their bodies intertwined, as their warmth spread over. It was the most beautiful Remus'd ever felt before. He finally felt peaceful, like it would finally be alright. 

The weight of Sirius's body against him was relaxing, to the point that Remus's eyes started to drop down, and Sirius's breathing slowed down. The heaven they were in may have been in stark contrast to the world around them, but they knew they'd fight to make their cloud nine real.

**Author's Note:**

> use this website for names and stuff, it's really cool: https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/spell-names.php


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